The SPARC 2014 General Assembly was a five-day international conference held in January 2014 in Queenstown, New Zealand. This conference provided an opportunity to improve SPARC engagement with researchers from developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region and foster links with the regional WCRP community. SPARC’s growing interest in climate processes in the tropical Western Pacific and role in delivering action oriented research through the GFCS creates an imperative to establish research collaborations with scientists in the region. The APN’s support to the attendance of four early-career key scientists at this conference will assist in realising this goal.